Mar 12, 2001 09:03 PM
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Die Hard With a vengeance...Triple the action better the fun...The third of John McClane's terrorist busting antics succeeds handsomely in almost every department. Every plot original to the eye can see..And as before action packed from start to end...You know you made the right choice when you're watching a Die Hard movie...
It Starts......
McClane himself, once again played by the ever reliable Bruce Willis and since we last saw him things have gone somewhat downhill for our balding hero. We discover early on that he's been suspended from duty as a New York cop, His wife has packed up and gone off to persue her career with Nakatomi, You'll have to go back and watch the first one if you can't remember (taking the kids with her) and worse still he's heavily hung-over from the night before. It's amazing what alcoholic beverages can do to you...
Sme nutcase breezes into town bright and early one morning and after blowing a department store to smithereens demands that McClane parades himself through Harlem wearing a rather racially-inappropriate sandwich board or he'll blow up something else. As you know Harlem is a black orientated area where no other race dares to go...
Why has this nutcase singled out McClane for persecution? Ah, that would be telling and if you haven't seen the movie before then I'll just say that all is not quite what it seems!
McClane is also given someone to banter with along the way (aside from himself) in the form of Samuel Jackson's racist shopkeeper Zeus unwittingly roped into the proceedings after the initial confrontation in Harlem...
This is all played out in the vast expanses of New York City in broad daylight, rather that being confined to a single location over one night and as such turns out to be a remarkably different beast to its predecessors. Yes, the claustrophobia has gone but in it's place you have a fast-paced, exuberant adventure with numerous short-sharp shocks and, as we've come to expect from McTiernan some brilliantly staged action sequences and great camerawork, a highlight being a frantic race against the clock as our heroes have to get from the top end of Manhatten down to Wall Street within 30 minutes using nothing but an NY yellowcab.
The story is excellent and the actual 'crime' is of the same intricate and devious style as in the original film. We also have a far better motive - Greed. While Die Hard 2 tried to switch away from this, it's clear that greed orientated capers work far better in this context. With plots, sub-plots, red-herrings, and complications along the way, it's easy to assume that the average viewer will get lost, but it doesn't happen.
The stunts and effects are up the standard that we expect and even given the general rise in standard within the genre, they still manage to impress. This is gung-ho action cinema at it's very best.
Can it touch the original film? Well, maybe it lacks the freshness of the first film but Die Hard With A Vengeance is a fabulous film. The freshness has been replaced with familiarity, and the creators do seem to be trying to inject new ideas in the mix. Far better than the second film, this is certainly the best of the sequels.
Obviously not for younger audiences, this is a fabulous film and a worthy entry in the series. Action fans will love it, and although those new to the series might miss some references along the way, they'll love it none the less
As before Yippie Kae Yae to you all...
